Interlude - The Trolltooth Wars

So a while back one of the posters on the Fighting Fantasy forum, CharlesX, asked if I would do a review for the novels.  Well this is that attempt.  It will be a similar format with some subtle changes.

Background - 

Its 1989.  Steve Jackson is living his best life.  Riding down the motorway in his Lotus Esprit convertible, the days of being trapped in Ian's flat being forced to write Fighting Fantasy were a long distant memory.  

He does not see the blacked out vans and the police stinger thrown across the road.  The red Lotus tires puncture immediately and the car spins wildly out of control before coming to a crashing halt.

As the dazed Steve comes to he looks up to see the tactical swat team surrounding him, weapons pointed directly at him.  His heart sinks as he sees the puffin logo on their sleeves.

One of the figures in black steps forward, removing his balaclava.  He then reaches into his pocket and puts his glasses on.  

Ian "Long time no see Steve."

Steve "Ian, what, we had a deal."

Ian "Look Steve, the numbers are dropping, I need you back.  We built this together."

Steve "I can't do it, I never want to write another gamebook!"

Ian "Well, that is the beauty Steve, its not a gamebook I need from you."

So in 1989 Fighting Fantasy released its first ever novel based in the world of the game.  The Trolltooth wars was written by series co-creator Steve Jackson.  It was his first novel and he said it was a lot harder than writing a gamebook.  Interestingly he has said that Puffin gave zero marketing to it so he never wrote another one for them.  After so many gamebook its going to be interesting reading in page order again.  Almost seems non Fighting Fantasy.  I read this book when in the early 90s but my only recollection is that I loved it, but the details are gone.  Looking forward to rediscovering it.

Covers - 

I remember loving this cover and time has not changed my opinion.  Its a bad ass Orc chopping up a Skeleton while surrounded by the undead hordes.  The storm in the background with lightning strikes just makes it look even cooler.

This was not how he intended this to go, quite shocked!

Having a good chew on the Orcs leg.

Premise - 

It started with an ambush. When Balthus Dire's bloodlusting Hill Goblins mount their raid of the Strongarm caravan, little do they realize what dramatic consequences their actions will have. For that caravan carries Cunnelwort, a mystical herb from Eastern Allansia, destined for none other than the evil sorcerer, Zharradan Marr! War - between two forces well-matched for evil - is soon to ensue ...

As the war escalates, the Kingdom of Salamonis comes under threat, and a champion of the court, Chadda Darkmane, is summoned to undertake a perilous mission. Somehow, he must turn the war to the advantage of Salamonis. Somehow, he must prevent the bloodshed and chaos of a victorious army's invasion on the Vale of Willow.

Will Darkmane succeed in his quest? And will Balthus Dire's chaotics or Zharradan Marr's undead prove victorious?

Bad guys v Bad Guys, this could be very interesting!  I imagine Chadda is going to play the part our hero normally plays.

Readthrough - 

Skill - oh wait not doing that here.

For this part I will do a brief summary of each chapter, it goes without saying but spoilers ahead!

Chapter 1 - The Rain of Death

A Goblin on a horse!

A caravan of Strongarms are ambushed by a force of  Goblins led by their chieftain Foulblade.  Their goal is a wagon at the centre.  On that wagon is Donnag Kannu who jumps onto one of the horses drawing the wagon in order to get them to charge away from danger.  Foulblade is in pursuit and jumps onto the wagon.  In desperation Donnag cuts the horses free and makes his escape, at the cost of his cargo.  

The goblins make short work of the remaining strongarms, and Foulblade goes back to investigate.  He meets his sergeant Orcleaver.  Hmm I read that as Orc Cleaver initially but its not.  He is Orc Leaver, I guess he just carelessly leaves orcs by mistake.  

Anyway they have a look in the sacks in the back of the caravan and start tripping out.  They are awoken form their stupor by an underling.  The goblin has found something on one of the bodies that causes both Foulblade and Orcleaver to panic, its a medallion with the number 85.

Chapter 2 - The Storm Gathers

Donnag Kannu has made it back but he is sitting on a seat sweating as he has to tell his master what happened.  The disembodied voice grills Donnag about what happened and he tells of the journey up to the ambush at Trolltooth Pass.  The voice wants to know more details on the goblin chieftain and correctly works out that it is Foulblade.  The voice does not think the goblin would dare raid his caravan if he knew and surmises that he is working under the orders of another.

The voice dismisses Donnag who thinks he has got away with losing his masters cargo.  But as soon as he gets out of the room he is seized by two rhino-men and he realises that he will be taken to the dungeons as none fail Zharradan Marr and get away with it!

Meanwhile the goblins are on their way back to a place they call the Black  Finger.  As they camp at night though they discover Orcleaver missing.  They find him fighting a black shadow.

Should not have left all those orcs lying around.

The Night Shadow is eventualy driven off by Foulblade with some fire.  Orcleaver has survived the encounter but the next day he has no recollection of the event.

Chapter 3 - The Black Tower

What?  No Congo of Chaos to greet us?

We get a bit of backstory on the tower.  Built by Gandor Dire with help from nertherworld deities two generations earlier.  Interestingly Gandor was a wealthy hermit sorcerer but not evil.  He was interested in demonic entities though so he ended up being turfed out of his home town of Warpstone (this is 1989 and warpstone is a major part of warhammer).  Unfortunately his choice of location of Craggen Heights is seeped in Chaos and it starts to effect Gandor, who starts inviting the creatures of chaos from the local area to live with him.

Upon his death it is taken over by Craggen Dire, who must be named after where he was erm, made, just like Brooklyn Beckham.  Craggen is decribed as an evil hearted rouge who only cared about magic and his son Balthus.  Balthus is obsessed with magic and bullies his father into sending him to Volgera Darkstorm to better learn the black arts.  When Balthus returns from his studies his father greets him with a big hug, only for Balthus to stab him.

Balthus is not only a great magic user but also a master military strategist.  He spends the next years building up his forces with the creatures of chaos, including all the goblin tribes, led by Foulblade.  

Meanwhile Foulblade and Orcleaver make their way to an audience with Balthus himself.  Balthus is initially please when he sees the sacks that the Goblin has and reports minimal casualties.  However he then asks if there were any survivors.  Foulblade initially says all were killed.

Well, I say all, but one might have got away.

This also constitutes failure so Foulblade is seized and escorted away.  Orcleaver gives Balthus the medallion that was found.  Balthus tells Orcleaver that he is now in charge.  As the goblin leaves, Balthus ponders his attitude as he is not acting like Orcleaver at all.  But he dismisses the thought as he looks at the medallion, knowing that the survivor will now be reporting back to Zharradan Marr, the war was on.

Chapter 4 - King Salamon's Court

Oh no, for people that read my Citadel of Chaos review, I am not a fan of King Salamon.  At least here he seems to have a plan.  We are introduced to Chadda Darkmane, our hero for this story.  He is dark, brooding and arrogant.  The all seeing three though have recommended him to the king for this mission.  The King thinks he has a lot of potential to be a great leader, but he is untested.

For some reason my head just keeps saying Chadda Khan, Chadda Khan

The King outlines his plan.  He knows war is brewing between Balthus and Zharradan and that whomever wins will set their sights on his kingdom instead.  It will be Darkmane's job to keep the two fighting and make the war lasts as long as possible.  

The kingdom of Salamonis is built on an honor system called Amonour and this quest would allow Darkmane to gain a lot.  He accepts the mission, demanding a servant.  Multiple times he causes the court to gasp with disbelief with his lack of etiquette.  But the King does not let it get to him, but internally he wonders if he has sent the right man for the job.

Where was this plan when you sent me to die in Citadel of Chaos?

And of course the King names the land after himself.

 Chapter 5 - The Chervah

We are then introduced to the servant given to Darkmane.  The Chervah.  Or to be more accurate his race is Chervah but he has a complicated name.  He explains its fine to call him Chervah even though it would be like calling us man.

The real hero of this story.

The Chervah is great.  He has prepared a vegan feast for Darkmane as it has great properties that will help him on his quest.  Darkmane calls it peasant food and orders him to get his some meat.  He is a complete dick about it.  Internally he thinks of the Chervah as a prattling idiot.  He does have a chew on one leaf though.

The next day Darkmane is in the courtyard washing.  The Chervah is in a fluster as he feels its his job.  Darkmane is too busy perving on a pretty lady.  

Darkmanes plan is to seek out the census taker Calorne Manitus in order to put a team together.  He needs people that have access to both camps in the war.  In the meantime the Chervah annoys him by giving him a running description of all he sees.  As a reader though its great to get the information.  Calorne is not home, he is currently in the city of Shazaar.

Chapter 6 - Thugruff's Plan

We met Thugruff in Creature of Havoc.  Marr is still hiding in his mirror.

What is the plan you ask?  Well Thugruff will lead a pack of soulless ones (undead creatures) to the black tower at night.  There he will get a message to the Ganjees (ghost beings that kill almost everyone that play Citadel of Chaos) and try and persuade them to swap sides.  

Marr then mirror phones Vallaska Roue, who we also have met before.  Marr sends him off to recruit more people for his armies.  We learnt in Creature of Havoc that is his strong point.  

We see the war party leaving but we do not see the battle.  Instead its the aftermath with Orcleaver giving his report and Dire wondering where the hell the Ganjees have gone.

Chapter 7 - The Forest of Yore

Darkmane and the Chervah make camp in the Forest on their way to Shaazar, where they plan to visit the wizard Moonchaser on the way.  Just as Darkmane is seeming to warm to the Chervah he blows his lid when he finds the Chervah has only packed his vegan meals.  Honestly at this stage Darkmane is a big of a dick as Dire and Marr.  He sends the poor Chervah into the woods to hunt some food, despite the idea of killing a living animal being abhorrent to the kind creature.

We learn that Darkmane despises sorcery of any kind.  So when the fire at camp starts to get unnaturally high he gets very apprehensive.   Turns out it is a message from the lady he was ogling the other day.  She is Lissamina and the King has tasked her with keeping watch on Darkmane without his knowledge.  Well that is out the window already as she feels she is better off helping than spying.  She can dream certain courses of action and let him know the likely outcome.

She also tells him that Marr has successfully managed to get the Ganjees to switch sides which is already swinging the war in his favor.  It is clear the two clearly like each other, are we getting a romance angle?  Especially since Darkmane is a bit of a dick and hates sorcery, what could possibly go wrong.  

Anyway they are interrupted by a screaming Chervah and when Darkmane looks back she is vanished.  A huge Skunkbear breaks through into the clearing chasing the Chervah.  A battle ensues and the heroes eventually take it down.  Darkmane jokes that the Chervah dis what he asked and got him some meat.

Chapter 8 - The Raid on Coven

This chapter is told from the viewpoint of a tuberbeet farmer, Charnley Troone.  Its a picture of a hard but happy family life with kids playing.  During dinner though he tells his wife of brewing trouble.  You see Coven sits in the lands of Zharradan Marr and if he goes to war with Balthus Dire he might get called up to serve in the army.

As they sleep though they are woken in the night by the sound of marching feet.  The villagers start looking out into the night and se a chaotic horde descending on them.  This is quite the scene as the description of some of the horde is quite horrific, especially the large spider type creatures that are spearing villagers. 

Yep this is Chaotic.

Charnley and his son get separated from his wife and other children in the carnage.  His wife tries to get help from a friend but its every person for themselves as she gets none.  Charnley meanwhile has got to the edge of town and tells his son to wait for him here as he has to go back and find the rest of the family, but if he is not back to follow the rest of the villagers.  He heads back in to the chaos and that is the last time his son would ever see his dad.

I have not done it justice but that was some chapter.

Chapter 9 - Battle Plans

Coven was raised to the ground by Dires forces.  The people that got out that arrived at Thugruff's testing grounds were only allowed in if they could fight.  Women and children were turned away.  This has given Marr a bit of scare as Dires troops had come very close to discovering the hidden entrances to his mines.  He knows he can not risk an all out attack in Dires territory so he comes up with a new plan.  He will use his forces to cut off supplies to the Black Tower.

Balthus gets desperate and decides its time to use the cunnelwort, the herb he stole at the very start.

Chapter 10 - Shazaar

Darkmane and the Chevrah make their way through the city of Shazaar and we get many descriptions of why it is not a safe place.  They make their way to the fattened pig where the census taker is staying.  Poor Chevrah does not drink so the tavern is not a fun place for him.  

Time to play spot the Chevrah!

Darkmane peer pressures the Chevrah into drinking ale and he gets quite drunk.  He meets his friend Calorne Manitus.  Darkmane relates a tale of how he was chosen by a prophet of he Amonour who became his "special friend".  Turns out he meant father figure.  Anyway that's how he knows he will succeed in his mission.

At this juncture a thug picks up the Chevrah and declares to his friend he has found him a stool to sit on.  The Chevrah is in panic mode but Darkmane goes all badass and absolutely kicks their ass.  Manitus says you will have to be careful as he will have made some enemies but Darkmane is not fussed.  

Chevrah and Mantis discuss Shazaar a bit more and we get some insight into strange practices and other oddities like Lucre week where a certain sect must give away all their wealth.  Then two elves get into a fight to the death and during the brawl they knock into a really large fat man.  He gets up and grabs them both by the neck and kills them before leaving the inn.

Manitus points him in the direction of the guy the fat man was talking to.  Jamut Mantrapper.  Darkmane tells Jamut all about his mission and how he needs him to take him to the Black Tower.  They haggle but Mantrapper has another mission he needs to start the following day.  Randomly Darkmane jumps forward with this sword and Mantrapper retaliates before he realises what has really happened.

Assassin!

The Assassin flees into the night and Mantrapper says take a room for the night and he will see what he can do.

Chapter 11 - A Warning from Lissamina

Darkmane has a dream that night.  In it they are on the way to the Black Tower but a rockslide means they have to leave the horses behind.  Later they get ambushed by goblins and they can't escape as they do not have horses.  As they are getting tortured, Mantrapper goes to stand on the side of the goblins.  After he wakes and tells the Chevrah the dream he drifts back to sleep.  This time Lissamina appears and tells him it was not a dream but what was likely to happen if he goes ahead with his plan.  

Instead she tells him what is going on with both Coven and the Galleykeep and offers another idea.  Volgera Darkstorm had three pupils.  Balthus Dire, Zharadan Marr and the third, the Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Zagor.  The other two murdered Darkstorm and Zagor is still annoyed by that so seek him out for how to defeat them.  

In the morning Mantrapper makes some entrance.

That is some threads you have there Mantrapper.  Maybe need a bit more shoulder pad.

Mantrapper says he can't go but provides a map to the Black Tower.  Darkmane tells him there is a change of plan and he needs to find Zagor.  Mantrapper heads back out to find information.  The Chevrah keeps tabs on him.  When he returns Mantrapper tells Darkmane he has managed to get out from his prior engagement and can come with them.  He has been unable to find any information on Zagor but knows a friend that might be able to help them find a magic user.

Everyone is happy and agrees but the Chevrah notices something.  If Mantrapper was unable to find any information on Zagor, how did he know he was a magic user?

Chapter 12 - A Spiritual Journey

Bathus is getting high.

Balthus is sitting down with his wife, the sorceress Lucretia, the very same who finished me off in Citadel of Chaos.  She is wearing strange breathing equipment which reminds me of my old tumble dryer.  It is so she can avoid breathing in the fumes of the cunnelwort while she keeps an eye on Dire.  

We get some descriptions of how Marr and Dire had different strategies when it came to cunnerlwort.  Dire's trip to the spirt realm is very trippy.  I would be wondering what Steve was on here.  But eventually he makes contact with the beings there.

Chapter 13 - Yaztromo's Tower

Well it would not be Fighting Fantasy without Yaztromo.  Turns out the wizard is friends with Mantrapper, who calls him a jib-jib which I like.  

Sorry it is a bit cluttered, I was not expecting visitors.

Yaztromo tells them of Zagor and where to find him.  But of course they have to buy some magical trinkets first so they head down to the basement to have a look at the goods.  No nose filters this time, instead they get the Orukk Dagger that will show them the direction your goal lies in, and will also always hit your targets heart.  Unless they have better magic of course.  However using it costs you strength.

They then go up to the top floor to use a strange device, of course we know it as a telescope.  Darkmane uses it to have a perv at Lissamina, the peeping tom that he is.  They then use it to plot out the route to Firetop Mountain.  The best part here is the Chervah being desperate to have a look and finally getting a shot.  He feels like a God.

We get a cameo from Vermithrax the crow, but its just a bit of comic relief.

Chapter 14 - The Coming of the Sorq

Balthus Dire's new pals are the Sorq Spirits.  In the space of one night they travel the world, getting information by tapping into peoples minds, which was not great for the person as they were reduced to imbeciles.  They decide to help Dire who tells them of the blockades.

The Sorq pretend to be goblins taking supplies to the black tower.  As soon as Marrs forces move in, they reveal themselves and massacre them.

Surprise Bitch!

Marr was not happy with this and spoke to the Ganjees, who up until now had been no use.  So it turns out Ganjees and Sorq hate each other.  The Ganjees lead an assault and after a battle (we only get to see the end), the two forces collide and somehow it results in them both being banished back to the spirt realm.  

Dire is upset by this, his supply lines are open again but he has lost the advantage.  So he decides he will need to go back to the spirt realm.

Chapter 15 - Into the Mountain

Its at this point that our gang of adventurers start playing through Warlock of Firetop Mountain.  They are already up against the first junction but they cheat and use the dagger.  They try and creep past the sleeping sentry but the Chervah fails his luck test and wakes him up.  They dispatch him easily and go to hide.  It is here they find the sleeping quarters and the Chervah opens a small box which contains a snake and a key.  

We then fast forward to the encounter with the Iron Cyclops.  Mantrapper is adamant that he wants the jewel that is the eye but Darkmane is very forceful in stopping him.  As they make their way further in though it transpires that Mantrapper has gone back secretly and lo and behold, when he takes the eye, he ends up in a battle for his life.

His ass is far less sexy this time around.

Mantrappers blows are useless against him.  Of course his bag splits open, and we are left on the cliffhanger of everything going dark as the cyclops chokes him out.

Chapter 16 - The Battle of the Pass

Dires forces have got to Trolltooth pass first and Orcleaver has them ready to ambush.  Many tribes of goblins are supported by the chaos hordes of orcs, black elves, barbarians, calacorms, giant insects, hellhounds and eyeless archers.  Orcleaver gives the other chieftains their orders, and after having to lay down the law they eventually all accept.  Interestingly the rest are referred to as drones, basically cannon fodder.  Which is unusual as goblins are normally the lowest in the pecking order, I like this twist.

Thugruff and Darramouss (another returning character) lead the forces of Marr into the pass.  The Galleykeep flying above them along with Tooki, which are Griffons with orcs riding them.  On the ship Vallaska Roue spots the ambush but the warning is too late as the horde attack.

Marrs Rhinomen are the difference in the battle.  The orc known as Blackscar suggests to Orcleaver to use the eyeless archers, but there is a problem with Orcleaver.  He struggles to give the command and many goblins are lost before he regains control and gives the order.

The Eyeless archers cause havoc on the Rhinomen who are being cut down so the Galleykeep flies over them and basically bombs them.  Dires forces can still win though if they commit their reserves now.  But Orcleaver loses control, the black shadow from earlier has him in its thrall, which of course is part of Marrs forces.  They then massacre the remaining Goblins.

Chapter 17 - Zargor's Domain

The other two are reviving Mantrapper.  Darkmane saved him by driving the dagger into the hole where the jewel was.  Mantrapper is thankful but still greedy for the jewel.  Darkmane insists on leaving it but the Chervah has put it in Mantrappers pocket for him.  

The team make it to the maze of Zargor, and I start having palpitations and flashbacks.  Luckily as they hide from a troll, they are straight to the minotaur.  The minotaur immediately picks up an urn of water and smashes it straight off Darkmane's head, knocking him out.  

Not so cool now, are you Darkmane!

Mantrapper is once again getting his ass kicked, although to be fair his name is Mantrapper, nothing about an iron cyclops or minotaur.  But the Chervah saves the day using the dagger.  Once they revive Darkmane they loot the place, finding gold and another key.  Darkmane says the Chervah should get the gold for saving them and Mantrapper reluctantly agrees.

They reach the dragon cave and I am really interested to see how this plays out as they do not have the spell.  Well they heroically run as quick as they can through the cave before it appears.

They reach Zagor who is an old man.  The warlock gets Mantrapper in a trance and reads his thoughts are not friendly, so he transforms into young Zagor.  Mantrapper breaks out of the spell with help from Darkmane and immediately attacks.  Zagor uses a spell to smash him senseless off the wall.  

Darkmane apoligises for the mercenaries aggressive behavior and explains to Zagor why he is here.  But before he can finish Mantrapper is up again and sneaks round behind and attacks with his sword.  Both the sword and Zagor's belt disappear and now the warlock is furious.  Darkmane realises he can not be reasoned with and curses Mantrappers lack of control.  He jumps on Zagor and all four end up wrestling on the floor.  However Zagor teleports away and starts to cast a fireball.  Mantrapper has no weapon so he grabs the jewel from his pocket and goes to throw it at Zagor.  

Zagor takes an allergic reaction to the eye jewel.

Darkmane and Mantrapper go into the next room and find his treasure chest.  As they are arguing over what to do, the Chervah shouts for them as Zagor is escaping. The Jewels influence has waned and the Chervah is trying to stop the recovering warlock.  Mantrapper throws the dagger........ but he hits the Chervah, killing him.

Chapter 18 - The Battle is Won

The remaining goblins have made their counter charge but Orcleaver is left little better than a corpse after Darramouss's night shadow has done it work.  They were just looking for any old goblin to be a spy and ended up with the leader.

Dire's forces actually put up a good fight but they are broken by superior tactics.  Blackscar sounds the retreat.  Marr plans to press on to the Black Tower but Blackscar gets a nighthawk away to bring news of the defeat to Dire.  Dire knows Marr is coming and resolves to go back to the spirt realm and get the Sorq.

Lissamina awakes from a dream, she has seen the result of Dires second trip and knows it must be stopped.  She opens a jar that is next to her.  Cunnelwort.

Chapter 19 - A Dark Secret

Back at Firetop Mountain, Darkmane finally gets to tell Zagor what the other two bad guys are up to.  He gives Mantrapper a nasty stare since he has killed the Chervah.  Zagor cares little for trying to save Salamonis of course, he is after all still meant to be a bad guy.  But he realises he has to do something as the victor will come for him next.  

He wants to test what Darkmane is telling him, but the orb that would allow him to do that is in his locked treasure chest.  It takes three keys which were on his belt, which is now gone when it vanished along with Mantrapper's sword when he attacked.  Ah but as luck would have it, the heroes have three keys with them,  a duplicate set of keys that had been stolen from Zagor in the past.  

Right enough it is the three keys they need.  Zagor refuses to let Mantrapper in the room but he trusts Darkmane. He starts to get younger again but Darkmane does not stop him.  The chest is opened, revealing treasure accumulated since his grandfather Gallan Zagor's days.  He retrieves the moon crystal.

Mystic Meg

Zagor confirms what is going on with Marr and then decides to have a look for Dire.  He is not even on Allansia, he is trapped in agony.  Darkmane then sees Lissamina and despairs why she is also in this mystery limbo.

Mantrapper is sleeping at the table, Zagor takes the chance to reach for the Jewel.  But it is as rouse, and a smiling Mantrapper opens his eyes and aims a killing blow at the warlock.  

Darkmane intercepts the attack though.  He has figured it out and has cut off Mantrappers hand and pins him up against the wall with his blade.  The Orukk dagger does not miss, so Mantrapper must have been aiming for the Chervah.  And when he saw Marr in the moon crystal he recognised Vallaska Roue as the person Mantrappper had been speaking to when they had first met in the tavern.

It of course is all true.  Mantrappers orders were to kill the Warlock as Marr feared him.  Oddly he said the Chervah was known to Marr so also had to be removed, the eyes of the gods.  His reasons though are understandable, his lady has been taken and is in Marr's dungeons.  His price is her freedom.  

Darkmane steps away, and Mantrapper grabs the dagger, and they realise the Warlock is gone.  Mantrapper could kill him but he hesitates.  Darkmane makes a move and they tussle.  It looks all over as the dagger goes towards Darkmane but it kills Mantrapper instead.  How wonders Darkmane, well it was Zagor, who had stronger magic.

Chapter 20 - Into the Galley Keep

Zagor has been doing some more digging and has found Dire is lost to the world as Lissamina followed him into the spirit realm and has cut of his exist.  At the cost of her also being trapped.  So now they concentrate on Marr, who must be defeated now that Dire can't stop him.  Zagor tells Darkmane that his weakness is his mirror, he lives in that dimension, smash the mirror.  He also gives Darkmane what is pretty much a bomb.  Saying in case he fails the bomb will do the work.  He has to the count of 100 before it blows, so he has to break the mirror and get back to the bomb and put it out.  Pretty sure Zagor is not bothered though and happy to sacrifice Darkmane.

Darkmane takes the dagger and gets magically warped by a spell.

Disco Darkmane!

Chapter 21 - The Final Struggle

Warping onto the Galleykeep deck, Darkmane goes all Solid Snake, silently taking people out.  The best part is using the dagger on Roue.

Ninja!

Darkmane sets the bomb up and starts counting.  He makes his way into the Galleykeep and finds the mirror.  But he is stopped by a gelatinous blob that freezes him.  Marr appears in the mirror and demands to know who sent him.  Darkmane pretends to be submissive before making a break for the mirror but Marr freezes him.  He gets more annoyed and Darkmane tells him the truth, all the time counting, he is buying time.

He gets to the count of 100 but nothing happens.  Thugruff appears with the bomb, he has put it out.  Darkmane is despondent, and in desperation grabs a candle and throws it at the blob which catches fire.  This allows him to run up to the mirror, grab it, and throw himself and the mirror out of the Gallykeep window, laughing manically.  

Chapter 22 - The Judgement 

We are at the celestial court, looking over a map of Allansia.  It turns out the Gods have been playing a game.  One of the Gods claims he has won as Balthus Dire is still alive.  Another laughs saying no chance he is trapped and the Half-Troll will arrive in the Galleykeep and take the Black Tower.  The retort is the necromancer is gone and the contest had to be won by a champion only.

The Goddess Libra gets up and claims victory for her Champion, Chadda Darkmane, as he saved Salamonis.  The judge, Logaan agrees that this was the closest to the victory conditions but she can not win as the champion did not survive.  

Libra says as per the rules she was allowed to change her champions fate but not on Titan, in return the others were allowed to play a traitor, Mantrapper.  Libra decides to use this rule to pluck Darkmane out of the sky and take him to the land of the gods.  Darkmane appears and is guided by the god Telak, who is in the form of the Chervah.  Apparently he was watching from his host and likes the body so much he is keeping it.  Darkmane recognises Libra as none other than Lissamina.  She raises a finger to her lips to keep him spilling the beans.

As he is led away, Libra is declared the victor.

It was all a game!  How Meta!

Dramatis Personae - 

Chadda Darkmane - 

The hero of the story and the person who takes the place of us in a standard Fighting Fantasy.  Darkmane is meant to be the dark brooding bad boy, but to be honest at the start he comes across as a bit of a prick.  I do not mind him being rude to the king and the court, but his treatment of the Chevrah made me hate him.  However it does give him room for growth and character development.  You see Darkmane start to soften, but not by too much.  However by the end, after seeing the Chevrah killed and the girl he fancies trapped in the spirit realm, he is prepared to sacrifice everything to save the world.

There is also a mix of how bad ass he is.  For example he takes down the Skunkbear and then kicks ass in the Fattened Pig.  But he is not daft enough to go all out attack each time.  When he is on the Galleykeep he is all stealth assassin.   But also gets knocked out by a jug of water being thrown by a Minotaur, so he is not invincible.

I would have liked to find out more about his past but maybe that comes in future books.  Hard to like but not the worst.  Although that odd part about him being chosen by the prophet was very odd.

The Chevrah - 

For me, the real hero of the story.  So ahead of his time with his non drinking, vegan ways.  I know people find him annoying and he is meant to be irritating, but I thought he was wonderful.  For a start he is great for exposition!  He is physically weak but he saves the day multiple times.  It's the Chevrah that first suspects Mantrapper, it's the Chevrah that takes the cyclops eye, it's the Chevrah that defeats the minotaur.  

His race is pretty unique as well which is cool, not something I have come across before.  A great companion, but of course he dies, its Fighting Fantasy after all!

Raise a glass (of water) for Sroonagh Monnow Pirrashatha (his real name).

Jamut Mantrapper - 

What a snappy dresser!  Also quite a rogue but in a a good way.  A very odd name, like his job.  Should maybe have been Jamut the Mantrapper.  A lot more than a one dimensional character who likes to get the loot.  Clearly a good guy as Yaztromo likes him.  But as we find out in the end, the bad guys have got their hooks in him.  You can understand why he has betrayed them, he has to save his beloved.  I was hoping he would be redeemed in the end, but no, he just gets killed.  This would have upset me, but he did kill the Chevrah so he did deserve it.

Would have loved more of him having to wrestle with his conscious, saving his love versus betraying his friends.

Lissamina -

Does not get as much screen time as she should.  Maybe Steve was scared of writing a female character.  We just getting fleeting glimpses but no answers.  Other than who she trained with we do not get much about her history.  Just glimpses from Darkmane when he thinks about her.  How did she get the Cunnelwort?  There is a story there.  Saves the world by sacrificing herself, which should be an epic moment, but it is off screen.

Yaztromo - 

Normally only written by Ian, Steve's Yaztromo is a bit different than what I am used to.  He seems a lot more kinder and helpful.  While the one in the books is very much a grumpy old man who uses adventurers to do his dirty work without enough information.  I did very much like going through his tower and he still likes selling magic items.

Zagor - 

Yep, I am putting the Warlock of Firetop mountain here and not in the big bads!  Pretty much saves the world.  Ok it may be for selfish reasons but he still did.  Did not seem to be that bad of a guy, I mean Jamut was trying to kill him constantly!  We get a bit of history about his grandfather but would have loved more exposition about who he is and why.  Yaztromo could have done that when they asked for help finding him. 

Of course this just confirms we were the bad guy in the first book!  

Artwork - 

Russ Nicholson is back here.  First off I have to say I love how its presented here.  Some of the pages are framed by a thin picture on each side.  Others are the bottom half of the page, as well as the classic.  Now for me this is the best I have seen from Russ.  Honestly I love the artwork in this book.  So much more detail than he normally does.  The goblins and the chaos hordes are some of my favorites.  But there is one that is one of my all time favorites.  I on purposely left it out of the readthrough as I wanted it here.  Its also a double page!

The Galleykeep in all its awesome glory!

Big Bad(s) - 

Lets start with Balthus Dire.  Dire was one of my favorite end bosses in the gamebooks.  We get a bit more detail of his family history and how the Black Tower is built.  Love this exposition.  I suspect Steve has wanted to bring him up to the same levels he built the story around Marr.  For some reason though I always felt he was on the back foot.   He immediately loses his biggest threat, the Ganjees.  He gets some new spirit friends who are eliminated in the same chapter.  The success of Coven is basically his horde attacking an undefended town that Marr does not care about.  And his commander is infected by a night shadow.

Maybe he could have made a final appearance, but no.  We do not even see what happens to him.  He goes for another trip to the spirit realm and Lissamina traps him there.  No big final battle, no interaction with any of the other characters.  Defeated off screen.

So by saying that I think its clear Zharradan Marr is the true big bad.  We do not get as much exposition but if you have played Creature of Havoc you do not need it as we got a huge background in that book.  His forces are far more effective but its really his minions that do the heavy lifting.  I would have liked to see more of him out of his mirror.  Its also Marr that Darkmane has the final confrontation with.  But again that final encounter was not very epic.  The finish is, but I think a final battle would have been good.

Menagerie - 

Quite a mix in this book.  Ill start with the Goblins.  I really liked Foulblade, I thought he was being built up really well and then he does not make it past the start.  He never appears again!  Orclever is not quite as interesting, which can be justified by the night shadow being in him.  The different goblin tribes are fun as well, a really great depiction of goblins in Fighting Fantasy.

The Sorq were interesting but disappeared too quickly.  Such a story that you could tell with the Ganjees.  But I feel we did not need them both.  Should have stuck with the Ganjees and told a story around them.

A lot of the creatures from Citadel of Chaos appear in the chaotic hordes such as the calacorm.  But they have a lot of great new ones like the buzzing giant flies and the spider creatures.  Also a shout out to the Eyeless archers, they were cool.

On the other side of the battle, Marrs soulless ones are his monsters.  Kind of undead but also experiments.  His forces are more Rhino men, but they have some specials such as the claw beast.  The Night Shadow I liked as well.

Darramouss appears quite late in the game but he does not really do much.  Other than appear here.

Turns up with the Soulless ones in a cameo.

Vallaska Roue plays more of a part.  With his interaction with Mantrapper, which leads to Darkmane figuring out the traitor part.  I mean he does kill two elves at the same time, that's quite impressive. 

Right in the guts!

But Thurgruff is the real star.  He just gets stuff done.  He is the strategist coming up with the plan to get the Ganjees to change sides.  It is his strategy that wins the big battle of Trolltooth Pass, and he also finds the bomb at the end.  I would like to think he takes over Marrs operation and becomes the real big bad. 

Entertaining Deaths - 

Well we can not really die in this one, but plenty others have terrible fates.  Foulblade being taken away, and god knows what happened to Donnag Kannu (remember him).  Or the fates of the villagers at Coven.

Jamut Mantrapper death was interesting with the mystery of who the dagger struck.

Vallaska Roue also getting daggered.

Orcleaver being left a gibbering mess.  Ironically a leaver being left.

If any of you are saying the Chevrah was an entertaining death, get out!  I am still in mourning.

Pete's Corner - 

The job market for evil henchman must be quite something.

Final Thoughts - 

Ok one thing I have read is that Puffin slashed the size of Steve's original.  That really shows.  The amount of named characters that go nowhere, like a mini Game of Thrones.  Even some major characters do not get a look in.  I do like how it tells the story from different viewpoints, it keeps the story fast paced.  But someone picking up this book with no prior knowledge would have no chance.  I believe they would really struggle with this book.  What's a Ganjee?  There is hardly any explanations of what anything is or how the world works.  And just as you get used to a character, you never see them again.   So yeah, for a non fan this book would be awful.

But I am not a non fan, I am very much a fan.  Armed with the knowledge of the Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Citadel of Chaos and Creature of Havoc you already have all the background you need.  I enjoyed the trip through familiar places and also new ones like Shazaar without the fear of dying by picking the wrong option.  This world feels alive and I was able to immerse myself in it.

Having two powerful bad guys going head to head was refreshing as well.  They are constantly portrayed as these all powerful threats so of course it makes sense they will come into conflict with each other.  

I do like Steve's writing a lot, especially considering this was his first novel.  But I do miss an epic final showdown, maybe with Darkmane getting in-between Marr and Dire.  If anything maybe he tried to put too much characters in.  But I would love to see the full script before it got cut.

By the far the best chapter is the attack on Coven.  It is so well written from the viewpoint of the terrified villagers.  It is also so tragic.   Steve captures the carnage so well.  It is closely followed by the big battle at Trolltooth Pass.  The tactics and what happens actually makes sense to me.

And as Fighting Fantasy fan, the trip to Firetop mountain is brilliant.  We know the encounters and what to expect so it is exciting to see how this party get through them.  Fantastic nostalgia.  Although can you imagine a new reader trying to make any sense of this.  Why was a snake in the small box with a key?  I know Steve planned to have the whole solution for the gamebook in here, I would have loved that.  Well maybe not the maze part.

I do think Darkmane could have been a bit more sympathetic, we already had a lot of bad guys in this.  But the Chevrah was great and I really liked how Mantrapper's choices had a reason behind them.  Lots of depth here that could have been explored more.

The twist at the end of it all being a game for the Gods is fun, it made me think of the Gods in Jason and the Argonauts.  Although the way Darkmane survived felt a little bit cheap.  But it fits Libra in the sorcery books.

The addition of the art by Russ Nicholson was fantastic, it really adds to the book and as I said his best so far!  More books should have pictures.  Although I do like using my own imagination, sometimes it just helps.  I was not so much on the Russ Nicholson hype train as other, but I see it now.

In conclusion, this is a great read for Fighting Fantasy fans, just do not let someone who has not played the books read it as they will think you have gone mad.  I am not quite over Balthus Dire being taken out off screen though.  Or what happened to the Chervah.

Score - 8 out of 10.